Virtualization security requires education, access control management

Enterprises have been looking to technology for the answer to their financial and operational woes during the ongoing global economic crisis. In many cases, decision-makers have opted to leverage server virtualization in an effort to reduce IT expenses, improve efficiency and streamline business processes. While these benefits may sound appealing, a good portion of the private sector may have jumped headfirst into the virtualization pool before checking its depth.

Virtualization security has emerged as a major challenge for many organizations, especially those that may have forgotten to look before they leapt. According to a report by Network Computing, there are generally two reasons for encountering these issues, including a general lack of understanding about the technology.

"Part of the issue is if you ask someone what their concerns are with virtualization, they really don't know. They just know it's a complicated thing and there's going to be problems with it," Michael Davis, CEO at Savid Technologies in Chicago, said, according to Network Computing. "If you look at what are the real risks, I think they might be different than what security companies say they are."

Controlling access to virtual environments

The other leading problem is associated with the convenience and ease of adding or removing virtual servers from the system. Since the process is not difficult, nearly anyone can do it. As a result, IT departments often have difficulty implementing data security and monitoring tools in volatile environments, Network Computing noted.

"It's so easy to spin up and maintain horizontally deployed virtual machine environments, but you often see them deployed without security," Al Huger, vice president of development for Sourcefire's cloud technology group, said, according to Network Computing. "In many cases, the security products you have for your physical systems don't work in virtual systems. You lose a substantial amount of visibility."

A separate report by InformationWeek said decision-makers should approach virtualization with nearly the same processes as traditional servers. This means IT departments need to implement data protection solutions while simultaneously monitoring who has access to which sections and why.

By planning ahead and following the right procedures, organizations won't need to worry about losing or exposing sensitive information during their quest to virtualize servers. Instead, enterprises will be able to leverage virtualization without fear, allowing them to enhance performance, reduce IT expenses and potentially gain a competitive advantage over rival firms.